Written Answers Friday 21 January 2005

Scottish Executive

Access for Disabled People

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to meet First ScotRail regarding the provision of disabled access at new and existing railway stations.

Nicol Stephen: The primary statutory responsibility for access for disabled people in the rail sector rests with the UK Government and is currently being delivered by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). All rail franchise operators are required to have a Disabled People’s Protection Policy and must comply with this policy in the delivery of passenger services. These policies set out the service to be provided for disabled passengers and are approved by the SRA.

  The Executive has been working closely with the SRA to provide a more accessible rail transport network in Scotland. For example, the new ScotRail franchise includes a £40 million rolling programme of investment throughout the life of the franchise, which includes £20 million scheduled for station upgrades. In planning and delivering these investments, account will be taken of the particular needs of disabled people. The SRA, Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive and the Executive have a role in managing and monitoring the franchise agreement, including delivery of the programme of investment and meet regularly with First ScotRail.

Adult Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources (a) were allocated to improve adult literacy and numeracy in 2004 and (b) have been allocated to improve adult literacy and numeracy in (i) 2005 and (ii) 2006.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive allocated GAE provision of £11.20 million, £12.32 million and £12.38 million for the three years 2004-07.

Adult Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-20130, S1W-25599 and S2O-493 by Ms Wendy Alexander, Iain Gray and Mr Jim Wallace on 4 December 2001, 17 May 2002 and 25 September 2003 respectively, what the reasons were for it not meeting its national adult literacy and numeracy target of enabling 80,000 people to be helped in 2004.

Allan Wilson: The main reasons for not achieving the 80,000 new adult literacy and numeracy learners during the period 2001 to 2004 are as follows:

  Community Learning and Development partnerships found it difficult to engage new learners.

  Delay in establishing the "development engine" within Communities Scotland.

  A shortage of suitably trained ALN tutors.

  Campaign to engage employers not yet in place.

  The above issues are all currently being addressed.

Adult Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it set in respect of raising levels of adult literacy and numeracy for (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004, broken down by local authority area and what the actual performance was.

Allan Wilson: A target of helping 80,000 new adult literacy and numeracy learners in Scotland for the period 2001-04 was recommended in the Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland report, published in July 2001. The target number was not broken down by local authorities.

  The following table gives a breakdown of new learners helped in each local authority area during the period 2001- 2004 as shown in their end year reports.

  

Local Authority
Actual
Actual
Actual
New Deal/ Job Centre+
Total


2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2001-04
2001-04


Aberdeen City
1,737
2,526
551
0
4,814


Aberdeenshire 
984
168
595
11
1,758


Angus
1,173
618
821
0
2,612


Argyll and Bute
484
312
208
23
1,027


Borders
98
117
356
0
571


Clackmannanshire
118
174
268
120
680


Dumfries and Galloway
357
360
623
59
1,399


Dundee
621
795
913
77
2,406


East Ayrshire
85
462
262
7
816


East Dunbartonshire
193
209
247
0
649


East Lothian
136
529
780
0
1,445


East Renfrewshire
87
14
49
0
150


Edinburgh
2,762
2,189
4,815
0
9,766


Falkirk
331
820
470
0
1,621


Fife
1,624
2,344
2,988
0
6,956


Glasgow
3,125
4,486
5,752
30
13,393


Highland
466
395
691
0
1,552


Inverclyde
438
383
422
0
1,243


Midlothian
0
407
491
0
898


Moray
180
383
136
0
699


North Ayrshire 
431
647
933
0
2,011


North Lanarkshire
366
1,125
872
5
2,368


Orkney
71
53
58
90
272


Perth and Kinross
572
163
293
0
1,028


Renfrewshire
422
584
839
365
2,210


Shetland
82
148
166
14
410


South Ayrshire
318
947
1,219
0
2,484


South Lanarkshire
387
746
628
0
1,761


Stirling
398
420
256
286
1,360


West Dunbartonshire
240
359
575
0
1,174


West Lothian
328
388
400
0
1,116


Western Isles
79
141
181
1
402


Totals 
18,693
23,412
27,858
1,088
71,051

Adult Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to its news release of 8 September 2004 on the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy Strategy and given its target of helping 150,000 people by March 2006, how many people will be helped in each local authority area in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006.

Allan Wilson: The following table shows forecast figures for 2004-06 provided by the partnerships. There are currently no forecast figures available for the period after March 2006.

  

Local Authority
Forecast
Forecast
Total


2004-05
2005-06
2004-06


Aberdeen City
1,000
1,000
2,000


Aberdeenshire 
1,100
898
1,998


Angus
880
605
1,485


Argyll and Bute
350
546
896


Borders
409
406
815


Clackmannanshire
327
346
673


Dumfries and Galloway
630
902
1,532


Dundee
1,237
1,607
2,844


East Ayrshire
367
258
625


East Dunbartonshire
291
355
646


East Lothian
780
626
1,406


East Renfrewshire
86
103
189


Edinburgh
5,100
4,397
9,497


Falkirk
560
662
1,222


Fife
2,398
2,433
4,831


Glasgow
4,746
5,250
9,996


Highland
760
891
1,651


Inverclyde
760
947
1,707


Midlothian
589
557
1,146


Moray
175
128
303


North Ayrshire 
1,032
875
1,907


North Lanarkshire
3,000
3,000
6,000


Orkney
60
60
120


Perth and Kinross
353
367
720


Renfrewshire
950
1,000
1,950


Shetland
170
167
337


South Ayrshire
1,290
1,200
2,490


South Lanarkshire
1,755
1,969
3,724


Stirling
354
463
817


West Dunbartonshire
749
1,045
1,794


West Lothian
551
694
1,245


Western Isles
185
125
310


Totals 
32,994
33,882
66,876

Adult Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to its news release of 8 September 2004 on the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, what the breakdown of the £51 million invested over a five-year period is by (a) local authority and (b) year.

Allan Wilson: Of the £51 million allocated, £41.7 million is being routed through local authorities to Community Learning and Development Partnerships. The attached table shows the allocation of funding to local authorities for 2001-06. The balance of funding was allocated to learning connections within Communities Scotland to support the partnerships.

  Allocation of Resources to Local Authorities for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (2001-06)

  

 
2001-02
(£)
2002-03
(£)
2003-04
(£)
2004-05
2005-06
Total


Aberdeen City 
78,305
156,611
301,621
316,122
357,000
1,209,659


Aberdeenshire 
80,237
160,474
309,062
323,920
366,000
1,239,693


Angus 
44,585
89,171
171,736
179,993
203,000
688,485


Argyll and Bute 
39,482
78,964
152,078
159,390
180,000
609,914


Clackmannanshire 
28,178
56,355
108,536
113,754
129,000
435,823


Dumfries and Galloway 
74,235
148,470
285,943
299,690
339,000
1,147,338


Dundee City 
95,732
191,465
368,747
386,475
437,000
1,479,419


East Ayrshire 
95,530
191,059
367,966
385,657
436,000
1,476,212


East Dunbartonshire 
28,447
56,894
109,574
114,842
130,000
439,757


East Lothian 
29,122
58,244
112,173
117,566
133,000
450,105


East Renfrewshire 
27,356
54,713
105,372
110,438
125,000
422,879


Edinburgh 
255,368
510,735
983,638
1,030,928
1,166,000
3,946,669


Falkirk 
61,672
123,344
237,551
248,971
281,000
952,538


Fife 
148,822
297,644
573,240
600,799
679,000
2,299,505


Glasgow City 
546,117
1,092,234
2,103,561
2,204,694
2,493,000
8,439,606


Highland 
85,557
171,115
329,555
345,399
390,000
1,321,626


Inverclyde 
65,822
131,645
253,538
265,727
300,000
1,016,732


Midlothian 
34,566
69,132
133,142
139,543
158,000
534,383


Moray 
35,239
70,479
135,737
142,263
161,000
544,718


North Ayrshire 
84,625
169,250
325,963
341,634
386,000
1,307,472


North Lanarkshire 
148,187
296,375
570,796
598,238
676,000
2,289,596


Perth and Kinross 
46,485
92,969
179,052
187,660
212,000
718,166


Renfrewshire 
99,797
199,593
384,402
402,883
455,000
1,541,675


Scottish Borders 
41,615
83,230
160,294
168,001
190,000
643,140


South Ayrshire 
57,280
114,560
220,635
231,242
261,000
884,717


South Lanarkshire 
133,142
266,284
512,844
537,500
608,000
2,057,770


Stirling 
40,305
80,610
155,248
162,712
184,000
622,875


West Dunbartonshire 
68,838
137,676
265,154
277,902
314,000
1,063,570


West Lothian 
51,640
103,280
198,909
208,472
236,000
798,301


Western Isles 
27,973
55,947
107,749
112,929
128,000
432,598


Orkney Islands 
20,746
41,492
79,910
83,752
95,000
320,900


Shetland Islands 
24,994
49,989
96,275
100,904
114,000
386,162


Totals*
2,700,000
5,400,000
10,400,000
10,900,000
12,322,000
41,722,000



  Note: *Rounded to nearest £1,000.

Adult Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-20130, S1W-25599 and S20-493 by Ms Wendy Alexander, Iain Gray and Mr Jim Wallace on 4 December 2001, 17 May 2002 and 25 September 2003 respectively and with reference to its news release of 8 September 2004 on the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, whether the remaining £28.5 million will still be allocated for literacy and numeracy in 2005 and 2006 and, if so, whether this funding will (a) form part of the aggregate external finance allocated to local authorities and (b) be ring-fenced.

Allan Wilson: We have allocated GAE provision of £12.32 million and £12.38 million for the years 2005-07.

  This funding is not ring-fenced.

Air Services

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the UK Department for Transport’s stance on regional air services as contained in the UK response to the Eurocontrol consultation on Draft Single European Sky Implementing Rule on a Common Charging Scheme for Air Navigation Services.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is aware of the concerns of regional airlines and airports about the Single European Sky Regulations which require the development of a common charging scheme for the recovery of the costs of air navigation services provided to airlines and other airspace users. The Executive supports the UK Government’s continuing pressure on the Commission for a reasonable approach which does not place a disproportionate regulatory burden on domestic and short haul flights.

Air Services

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will conduct a quantitative analysis regarding any potential adverse effects on communities served by smaller aircraft of any common charging scheme for air navigation services implemented under the Single European Sky.

Nicol Stephen: No. The Scottish Executive’s efforts are focussed on supporting the Government’s continuing pressure on the European Commission to ensure that any adopted common charging regime does not place a disproportionate regulatory burden on smaller aircraft and the communities they serve.

Airports

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make a ministerial statement regarding the buy out of the PFI of Inverness Airport Terminal; whether it will provide an estimate of the costs of buying out the PFI, and whether it recognises potential benefits from the buy out for the economy of the Highlands and Inverness in particular.

Nicol Stephen: Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) has recently undertaken a full review of the PFI contract at Inverness Airport Terminal and the impact of a buy-out on the airport and the wider economy. With the support of the Executive, HIAL is now seeking to secure the buy-out of the contract. HIAL will be aiming to secure best value for the taxpayer in these sensitive negotiations and an announcement will be made at their conclusion.

Asthma

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider adding asthma to the list of chronic conditions exempt from prescription charges, given that 390,000 people in Scotland have asthma.

Mr Andy Kerr: We have no plans to extend the current list of chronic conditions that are exempt from NHS prescription charges. Any decisions to change the current exemption criteria will not be taken until the Executive’s review of exemption policies, for patients with chronic conditions and people in full time education or training, is complete.

  Patients who are not exempt and need a lot of prescription medicines can cap their prescription charge liability by using Prescription Pre-payment Certificates. Patients can save money with a four months certificate costing £33.40 if they need more than five items during that period. Twelve month certificates cost £91.80 and are cost effective for patients who need more than 14 items per year.

Asthma

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of research undertaken by Asthma UK that found that 71% of people with asthma say that free prescriptions will do the most to improve their lives; when it expects the consultation on prescription charges to be completed, and what consideration it has given to adding asthma to the list of exempt conditions.

Mr Andy Kerr: We are aware of research undertaken by Asthma UK. Any published reports may well feature in the literature research project that is currently underway and which forms part of the Executive’s review of NHS prescription charge exemption policies. The public consultation phase is expected to begin around summer this year and run for a minimum of three months to allow all stakeholders to submit their views. The Executive will, thereafter, consider the responses in detail before taking any decision on possible policy changes. In the meantime, the Executive has no plans to change the list of chronic medical conditions that are currently exempt from NHS prescription charges.

  Patients who are not exempt and need a lot of prescription medicines can cap their prescription charge liability by using Prescription Pre-payment Certificates. Patients can save money with a four months certificate costing £33.40 if they need more than five items during that period. Twelve month certificates cost £91.80 and are cost effective for patients who need more than 14 items per year.

Child Poverty

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has estimated the cost of ending child poverty in Glasgow.

Malcolm Chisholm: No. This is a complex issue for which costs cannot be estimated.

  However, significant Executive programmes address aspects of child poverty, including the Community Regeneration Fund and Working for Families.

Children's Panels

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12922 by Euan Robson on 22 December 2004, which measures within the retention strategy for recruitment for children’s panels have been implemented following advice by the Publicity Working Group.

Euan Robson: The retention strategy was designed to address the principal reasons for resignation, i.e. failure of local authorities to implement supervision requirements; overstretch caused by too many hearings per session and poor facilities at hearings centres; late reports; lack of support from employers, and, lack of appreciation and support for the role played by the members of the children’s panel.

  In response the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 gave children’s panels the power to challenge local authorities through the courts where supervision requirements have not been properly implemented.

  The Executive funded the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) to enhance its capital development programme. This will lead to a series of improvements to facilities at hearings centres, including family friendly improvements and property replacements.

  SCRA has led the development of standards in the timing and management of children’s hearings, which will be implemented in 2005.

  The Scottish Executive has refreshed the time intervals process to refocus on key standards so that agencies (police, SCRA and local authorities) can minimise the time it takes from referral of a child to implementation of hearings’ decisions.

  The Scottish Executive has raised awareness amongst employers through an insert in the March 2004 Forum of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, short television programmes in 2004 as part of the Talking Scotland series and through individual approaches to employers to stress the benefits to business of the transferable skills of trained panel members. Further work with employers is planned for 2005.

  Since 2002 the Scottish Executive has actively demonstrated the value it places on the contribution of panel members by implementing many aspects of the retention strategy, e.g.

  introduced an indemnity scheme for volunteers in the hearings system where they might be;

  held a reception for panel members at Edinburgh Castle in 2004, hosted by the First Minister;

  introduced an annual long service event for panel members with awards for those serving 25 years (the next such event is planned for March 2005);

  provided funding for laptop computers for panel chairmen and their deputies;

  introduced an extranet on the children’s hearings website to improve sharing of training and best practice materials;

  developed software to help panel chairs compile panel rotas;

  rolled out IT training for panel chairs, and,

  provided media training for panel chairs.

Community Regeneration

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost will be of administering the Community Regeneration Fund in Glasgow.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost will be of administering the Community Regeneration Fund, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  We are currently considering appropriate terms and conditions for the new Community Regeneration Fund, which does not become operational until 1 April 2005. The terms and conditions will cover the nature and levels of costs associated with the effective administration and management of the fund by the accountable body.

Community Regeneration

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the allocation of monies from the Community Regeneration Fund will be determined for each local authority ward.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Community Planning Partnerships are responsible for determining how the Community Regeneration Fund (CRF) is spent across their area, as set out in their Regeneration Outcome Agreement (ROA), which the Minister for Communities will approve. We expect ROAs to provide clear evidence that the most disadvantaged areas and groups will be targeted, in line with guidance on ROAs which Communities Scotland issued in August 2004.

Community Regeneration

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the Community Regeneration Fund awarded to Glasgow for the next three years will be allocated to the 28 council wards identified by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, Strategies Against Poverty, as having the highest deprivation levels in the United Kingdom.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Guidance issued by Communities Scotland to Community Planning Partnerships in August 2004 states that the Community Regeneration Fund (CRF) should be targeted primarily at the most deprived 15 per cent of areas (data zones) identified by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004. At least 80 per cent of a Community Planning Partnership’s CRF allocation should be targeted at the most deprived 15% of data zones.

Community Regeneration

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will evaluate the work of community planning partnerships following the introduction of the Community Regeneration Fund.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  We are currently developing a performance framework to monitor the development and delivery of Regeneration Outcome Agreements which Community Planning Partnerships are required to have in place. The development of that framework will include consideration of appropriate evaluation procedures.

Congestion Charging

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct, or invite, the City of Edinburgh Council to seek approval from the Electoral Commission of the proposed wording of the question in the forthcoming referendum on toll proposals and of the proposal to send to each household a leaflet setting out the council's plans; whether the Executive is satisfied that the council’s proposals are fair; whether the Executive has any powers in relation to the referendum, including the holding or funding of the referendum, that would enable it to require the council to amend its plans; whether the Executive has had any correspondence with the council, its officials or those acting on its behalf regarding the wording of the question on the referendum ballot paper or the proposal to fund the cost and issue a leaflet to each household regarding the transport plans.

Nicol Stephen: The wording of the question in the forthcoming non statutory referendum on the Council’s Local Transport Strategy is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council. The Executive has not provided funding for the referendum, nor the associated information campaign.

  Due to the nature of Scottish ministers’ quasi judicial role in confirming a charging order, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time on any particular aspect of the proposed scheme.

Congestion Charging

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether questions posed in local referenda on congestion charging should comply with the guidelines set out by the Electoral Commission on the framing of such questions and, if so, whether the questions proposed by the City of Edinburgh Council and West Lothian Council comply with these guidelines.

Nicol Stephen: The wording of such questions is a matter for the local authorities concerned. The Scottish Executive has no locus.

Education

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce enhanced provision for traditional music in schools as part of the 3-18 curriculum review.

Peter Peacock: I announced in my response to the Curriculum Review Group’s recommendations that a cycle of continuous updating and reform of the curriculum across all areas of learning will begin immediately, starting with the science curriculum 3-18. A programme board has been established to take forward this work and is still to determine a timetable for the review of other areas of learning.

  I am currently exploring what more I can do specifically to strengthen traditional music.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made with its review of the early years workforce; whether the working groups of the review will report to the Executive and, if so, what the timetable is, and what further consultation arrangements will be made subsequent to the publication of the review’s reports.

Peter Peacock: The National Review of the Early Years and Childcare Workforce consists of a Steering Group and five Working Groups. The working groups cover:

  Roles and Responsibilities

  Qualifications and Training

  Career Pathways

  Recruitment and Retention

  Workforce Planning

  The steering group has met twice and there have been several meetings of the working groups. The initial phase of the review was carried out by the Roles and Responsibilities Working Group which was tasked to consider how the roles and responsibilities of early years and child care workers might evolve in the light of policy developments, to ensure that the workforce continues to meet the needs of children in the future. The other three working groups which have met (Qualifications and Training, Recruitment and Retention, and Career Pathways) are using the output of the Roles and Responsibilities Group to inform their thinking. The Workforce Planning Working Group will start its work in the New Year. Each of the Working Groups is identifying a number of issues and the Steering Group will consider their recommendations at its next meeting. The review team will also meet front line staff and managers to discuss emerging issues including the work on roles and responsibilities.

  The steering group will formulate recommendations and report on these to ministers in the summer of 2005 at which time I will set out my intentions regarding consultation on that report.

  Further information about the Review can be found on the Scottish Executive website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Young-People/Early-Education-Child-care/EarlyYearsReview/intro.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many school students it expects there to be in 2014-15.

Peter Peacock: The latest pupil projections estimate that there will be 674,800 pupils in publicly funded Scottish schools including pre-school in September 2014.

Education

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what records are held regarding the names and dates of attendance of pupils at primary and secondary schools during the 1950s and 1960s and how this information can be accessed.

Peter Peacock: The Schools General (Scotland) Regulations 1975 , which replaced similar, earlier, provisions, require education authorities to preserve registers of attendance for five years. If any records still exist for the 1950s and 1960s, they would be held by the relevant school or authority, to whom requests for access should be made. Individual records of pupil attendance are not held centrally.

Education

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of young people in Glasgow left school at 16, broken down by council ward area, in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Peter Peacock: It is not possible to supply this information in the requested format as we do not hold data on home postcodes of school leavers for these years. The figures for Glasgow City as a whole are as follows:

  % of Pupils Leaving School as Soon as Reaching School Leaving Age, 1999-2004

  

 
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Glasgow City
44
42
43
42
41
42


Scotland
33
32
32
32
33
33



  Data refers to publicly funded secondary schools in Scotland, including pupils in special units.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of pupils did not attain Level C within the 5-14 attainment targets by the end of primary 7 for (a) reading, (b) writing and (c) mathematics in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: Due to the volume of information requested, a table showing the percentage of pupils not attaining level C for reading/writing/mathematics by end of P7, by authority: 1998-99 to 2003-04 has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34953).

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of pupils did not attain Level B within the 5-14 attainment targets by the end of S2 for (a) reading, (b) writing and (c) mathematics in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: Due to the volume of information requested, a table showing the percentage of pupils not attaining level B for reading/writing/mathematics by end of S2, by authority: 1998-99 to 2003-04 has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34954)

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of pupils did not attain Level D within the 5-14 attainment targets by the end of primary 6 for (a) reading, (b) writing and (c) mathematics in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: Due to the volume of information requested, a table showing the percentage of pupils not attaining level D for reading/writing/mathematics by end of P6, by authority: 1998-99 to 2003-04 has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34955).

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of pupils did not attain Level A within the 5-14 attainment targets by the end of primary 4 for (a) reading, (b) writing and (c) mathematics in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: Due to the volume of information requested, a table showing the percentage of pupils not attaining level A for reading/writing/mathematics by end of P4, by authority: 1998-99 to 2003-04 has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34956).

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children left school with no qualifications in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-9895 on 3 September 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Employment

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children in Glasgow lived in non-working families, broken down by council ward area, in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04.

Malcolm Chisholm: Table 1: Percentage of Children in Glasgow who Live in Households with No Adults in Paid Employment

  

Year
%
Base


1999
43
617


2000
34
798


2001
37
712


2002
38
624


2003
35
604



  Notes:

  1. Source: The Scottish Household Survey, 1999-2003.

  2. Year-on-year changes from 2000 are not statistically significantly different. Statistics produced for different time periods may differ due to, for example, sampling variability.

  3. For the purposes of this parliamentary question, "adults in paid employment" are defined as being people aged 16 or over who are in full- or part-time employment, or who are self-employed.

  4. Children are defined here as being people aged less than 16 years.

  5. The results are given for calendar years as the survey is not designed to be representative for any council area for a financial year.

  6. The results are not provided by council wards as the sample is not designed to be representative for council wards.

  7. The base numbers show the size of the population sub-group questioned in the survey (i.e. children examined in Glasgow) but cannot be used to calculate how many respondents gave a certain answer.

European Funding

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for auditing organisations in receipt of European Social Fund funding; who sets the criteria; how organisations in receipt of such funding are advised of the criteria prior to receiving funding; what feedback these organisations receive after audits have taken place; whether all such funding is subject to audit; whether the criteria differ from equivalent criteria in England and, if so, in what way; how any funds deemed to be used inappropriately under the fund are reclaimed; what the basis is for any such reclaim and what arrangements are made to facilitate repayment and mechanisms for appeal against reclaiming of funding, and what funding has been so reclaimed since the establishment of the fund.

Allan Wilson: (a) What are the criteria for auditing organisations in receipt of European Social Fund (ESF) funding?

  Organisations in receipt of ESF are audited by their external auditors for annual accounts and ESF final claims, and they may also be audited by the European Commission (DG Emploi) and the European Court of Auditors.

  The Scottish Executive’s expenditure under ESF is subject to annual audit by the Auditor General. Public sector bodies in receipt of ESF monies are also subject to audit by auditors appointed by the Auditor General Scotland (AGS) or the Accounts Commission. In addition, under SSI 2003 No.530 The Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 (Access to Documents and Information) (Relevant Persons) Order 2003, the AGS has right of access to information held by other organisations in receipt of ESF monies for the purpose of the audit of the Scottish Executive.

  In accordance with Article 4 and 10 of Commission Regulation 438/2001 a sample of projects receive monitoring visits by the Programme Management Executive (PME), and on-the-spot checks by the Scottish Executive’s Verification and Compliance (VAC) team (part of the European Structural Funds Division of the Enterprise Transport and Lifelong Learning Department). Regulation 438/2001 sets out the extent of on-the-spot checks as well as the criteria for selection of projects for checking.

  The Criteria for all of the bodies that can audit ESF funding is published and can be accessed at: www.interreg3c.net/sixcms/media.php/5/en_general_downloads_eu_438.pdf.

  (b) Who sets the criteria:

  The criteria are set by the European Commission.

  (c) How are organisations advised of the criteria prior to receiving funding?

  A copy of the Verification and Compliance (VAC) Guide which explains the legal basis and full details of on-the-spot checks is included with the offer of ESF grant along with information about monitoring checks.

  (d) What feedback do these organisations receive after audits have taken place?

  Programme Monitoring Executive (PME) Monitoring Checks:

  The PME carries out monitoring visits which equate to an agreed percentage of the value of the approvals granted each year. These visits are aimed at addressing any issues as early as possible to allow the applicant to amend processes/practices before the project reaches a conclusion. The grantee is informed in advance of the visit and is provided with a copy of the checklist to be completed by the PME during the visit. 

  Feedback is given during the visit and any issues are discussed with the grantee. A timescale is agreed for the submission of further information. If there are issues to be followed up the PME provides the grantee with a formal report, detailing any action the grantee is required to take. When the issues have been resolved satisfactorily the PME writes to the grantee confirming this. If issues have not been resolved satisfactorily or cannot be resolved, the PME informs the Managing Authority.

  If there are no follow up issues resulting from the visit the PME writes to the grantee confirming this and the check is concluded.

  VAC on-the-spot checks: Feedback is given to the grantee during the course of the check. At the end of the check any issues are discussed with the grantee. Any further issues arising from quality control checks by the Head of the VAC team are communicated to the grantee by telephone.

  The VAC team prepares a report of the results of the on-the-spot check for issue to European Structural Funds (ESF) Division’s Managing Authority (MA). The MA writes to the grantee raising any issues it considers should be brought to the grantee’s attention, in particular, any results that indicate ineligible expenditure, or any other circumstances that would give rise to recovery of grant. The grantee may challenge the VAC findings at any stage.

  The MA’s letter invites the grantee to confirm acceptance of the VAC findings or offer further information. The Head of the MA considers any arguments against the VAC recommendations and makes a decision based on all of the facts presented. The MA sends a letter explaining the decision to the grantee, including an explanation of the calculation of any grant to be repaid. An invoice requesting repayment of the grant will then be sent to the grantee, or recovery is effected by offset from another of the grantee’s projects.

  (e) Is all ESF funding is subject to audit?

  Yes.

  (f) Is the criteria in Scotland different from equivalent criteria in England?

  Article 4 and 10 of Commission Regulation 438/2001 applies to all European Union countries. The criteria for carrying out checks are therefore the same in all parts of the United Kingdom.

  (g) How are funds deemed to be used inappropriately reclaimed, and what is the basis for such reclaim?

  All organisations are aware that on acceptance of a grant award they are legally bound by the terms and conditions of the grant award. If a recovery of previously paid grant is required then the organisation is legally bound to repay any and all sums so requested.

  Arrangements to facilitate repayment:

  Where a recovery has been identified, the paying authority will first identify whether the organisation from which recovery is to be made has any other projects currently in progress. Where the organisation is operating another project under the same Programme the amount to be recovered will be offset against any future payments on that project. If there is no suitable project, an invoice will be raised for the full amount of the recovery.

  Should payment not be received and if the organisation has not replied in an acceptable manner to further correspondence from the Executive, then Solicitors will be contacted to facilitate recovery of the sum due. The Executive will seek recovery of the full amount of the sum due, taking into consideration the financial circumstances of the organisation and seek the sum due in a manner which will not be detrimental to the viability of the organisation.

  (h) What are the mechanisms for appeal against reclaiming of funding?

  In the case of a VAC on-the-spot check the grantee may challenge the VAC findings or offer additional information to mitigate any proposed recovery. It is also possible to respond to findings arising from Commission or Court of Auditors’ visits although the scope to argue against action to recover grants is rather more limited.

  (i) What funding has been so reclaimed since the establishment of the fund?

  I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-13023 on 20 January 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Ferry Services

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the competitive tendering process for ferries operated by Caledonian MacBrayne is compulsory under EU regulation.

Nicol Stephen: At the Transport debate on 8 December 2004, the Scottish Parliament expressed concerns regarding the tendering process for the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services. Ministers agreed to discuss these concerns with the European Commission. I raised this issue with the European Transport Commissioner when I met him in Brussels on 9 December 2004. Further discussions will now take place between the Executive and the Commission and I shall report the outcome to Parliament as soon as possible.

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce two-view mammography as the standard breast-screening method.

Mr Andy Kerr: The current practice within the Scottish Breast Screening Programme involves a two view mammography (two x-rays from different angles) at the first screening visit with a single view mammography every three years thereafter.

  The Breast and Cervical Screening National Advisory Group are currently considering the impact of introducing two view screening at every screening visit and are expected to make a recommendation to ministers towards the end of 2005.

Health

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take following the advice issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on the risk of heart attack following the use of celecoxib.

Mr Andy Kerr: On 21 December 2004, the Executive alerted health professionals in Scotland to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) advice, which provided prescribing guidance on the use of celecoxib (Celebrex) and other selective Cox-2 inhibitors in light of concerns about cardiovascular safety. The advice is available on the MHRA website www.mhra.gov.uk .

Housing

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households in rural areas reside in (a) private rented and (b) public sector rented homes, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The table gives estimates for households in rural areas who reside in private rented and public sector rented accommodation by local authority, 2003. The Scottish Household Survey defines rural areas as being settlements of fewer than 3,000 people.

  Households in Rural Areas by Local Authority Area, 2003

  

Local Authority Area
Urban
Rural


Social rented
Private rented
Social rented
Private rented


Scotland
542,300
106,900
67,100
31,300


Aberdeen City
27,200
8,400
0
100


Aberdeenshire
9,200
1,200
8,200
4,000


Angus
10,600
1,300
500
1,900


Argyll and Bute
5,300
2,100
4,100
2,100


Clackmannanshire
6,000
400
300
100


Dumfries and Galloway
8,800
1,500
5,900
3,500


Dundee City
22,900
7,200
0
0


East Ayrshire
13,600
1,300
4,200
200


East Dunbartonshire
5,100
200
400
200


East Lothian
6,100
1,300
2,000
1,100


East Renfrewshire
5,000
1,000
0
0


Edinburgh, City of
32,600
25,900
700
400


Eilean Siar
1,100
300
1,000
400


Falkirk
19,000
1,900
1,100
100


Fife
36,000
5,300
4,600
2,900


Glasgow City
112,200
21,600
100
100


Highland
11,800
2,500
6,300
3,600


Inverclyde
11,400
2,200
100
100


Midlothian
8,800
800
1,000
100


Moray
5,300
1,100
2,700
2,100


North Ayrshire
20,500
1,700
700
200


North Lanarkshire
42,400
3,300
3,800
300


Orkney
1,000
200
500
200


Perth and Kinross
7,300
1,100
2,900
2,100


Renfrewshire
22,300
2,400
100
100


Scottish Borders
7,500
1,400
3,300
2,600


Shetland
1,200
100
1,300
300


South Ayrshire
9,300
2,200
2,000
400


South Lanarkshire
32,000
2,700
4,000
800


Stirling
6,000
1,700
2,000
800


West Dunbartonshire
15,000
1,000
0
0


West Lothian
17,900
1,300
3,900
500



  The figures are estimates only and have been rounded to the nearest hundred.

  Scottish Household Survey data is only representative at local authority level over a two year period. Proportions of households in private rented and public sector accommodation in rural areas have been applied to the 2003 households estimates taken from the 2002-based household projections.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people in Glasgow lived in overcrowded housing, broken down by council ward area, in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04.

Malcolm Chisholm: Table 1: Percentage of People in Glasgow Who Live in Overcrowded Households

  

Year
%
Base


1999
12
2,896


2000
11
3,765


2001
9
3,559


2002
10
3,218


2003
10
3,241



  Source: The Scottish Household Survey, 1999-2003.

  Notes:

  1. Year-on-year changes are not statistically significantly different. Statistics produced for different time periods may differ due to, for example, sampling variability.

  2. For the purposes of this parliamentary question, "overcrowded households" are defined as being households which are below the bedroom standard. The calculation of the number of bedrooms required is based on the assumption that a separate bedroom is required for:

  each cohabiting couple;

  any other person aged 21 years or over;

  each pair of young persons of the same sex aged 10 to 20 years, and

  each pair of children under 10 years (regardless of sex).

  Unpaired young persons aged 10 to 20 are paired with a child under 10 of the same sex if possible or allocated a separate bedroom. Any unpaired children under 10 are also allocated a separate bedroom.

  3. The results are given for calendar years as the survey is not designed to be representative for any council area for a financial year.

  4. The results are not provided by council wards as the sample is not designed to be representative for council wards.

  5. The base numbers show the size of the population sub-group questioned in the survey (i.e. people examined in Glasgow) but cannot be used to calculate how many respondents gave a certain answer.

Housing

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties there are within each council tax band, broken down by local authority area and expressed also as a percentage of all properties within each area.

Tavish Scott: The information is contained in the following tables.

  Table 1 Number of Properties on the Valuation List on 6 September 2004 Total number of Dwellings

  

 
Band A
Band B
Band C
Band D
Band E
Band F
Band G
Band H
Total


Scotland
578,020
583,154
371,705
290,100
294,383
151,155
98,957
11,129
2,378,603


Aberdeen City
21,858
27,906
17,447
11,932
12,866
7,404
6,603
738
106,754


Aberdeenshire
20,840
15,540
13,133
15,360
17,587
11,327
7,132
438
101,357


Angus
15,468
12,241
6,534
7,337
6,374
2,283
1,167
146
51,550


Argyll and Bute
8,076
9,528
9,201
5,574
6,760
3,510
2,375
222
45,246


Clackmannanshire
6,466
7,065
1,773
2,219
2,672
1,209
631
41
22,076


Dumfries and Galloway
11,484
22,552
10,756
8,995
9,311
4,044
1,949
151
69,242


Dundee City
31,877
16,541
7,621
7,817
5,640
1,882
790
42
72,210


East Ayrshire
27,001
9,391
4,159
5,208
5,116
2,282
482
38
53,677


East Dunbartonshire
1,314
3,785
7,956
6,961
10,751
6,323
5,575
475
43,140


East Lothian
1,176
9,226
13,570
4,902
5,037
3,511
3,033
502
40,957


East Renfrewshire
1,498
5,267
3,836
5,945
7,979
5,798
5,684
664
36,671


Edinburgh, City of
24,431
45,441
40,690
32,683
35,037
21,530
18,466
3,258
221,536


Eilean Siar
4,945
3,672
2,662
1,443
803
123
30
4
13,682


Falkirk
22,701
18,844
5,838
7,585
7,365
3,597
1,466
48
67,444


Fife
41,968
47,796
19,840
17,014
19,785
9,824
5,073
394
161,694


Glasgow City
80,530
74,961
61,818
36,293
24,234
9,356
5,231
652
293,075


Highland
20,262
22,700
20,426
15,671
15,077
6,626
3,093
314
104,169


Inverclyde
22,899
4,986
2,828
2,815
3,118
1,614
1,221
178
39,659


Midlothian
1,005
11,827
9,711
3,830
3,903
1,937
1,309
147
33,669


Moray
11,940
9,915
5,798
5,419
4,599
1,484
513
106
39,774


North Ayrshire
21,956
18,327
5,952
5,855
7,918
2,609
1,037
43
63,697


North Lanarkshire
54,524
36,501
16,907
13,451
12,742
4,788
1,854
97
140,864


Orkney Islands
2,600
2,616
1,869
1,407
866
171
17
2
9,548


Perth and Kinross
9,248
14,589
10,732
8,940
10,425
6,084
4,430
573
65,021


Renfrewshire
15,183
25,742
12,169
9,462
9,585
5,247
2,991
200
80,579


Scottish Borders
16,538
12,482
6,193
5,139
5,428
3,680
3,004
369
52,833


Shetland Islands
3,210
1,767
2,489
1,484
959
172
37
2
10,120


South Ayrshire
7,411
12,452
8,234
7,663
9,039
4,332
2,689
227
52,047


South Lanarkshire
37,474
29,552
22,667
16,977
15,867
8,306
4,334
311
135,488


Stirling
6,498
8,342
3,949
3,856
5,703
4,621
4,272
574
37,815


West Dunbartonshire
8,132
17,424
7,255
4,365
4,396
1,417
486
30
43,505


West Lothian
17,507
24,176
7,692
6,498
7,441
4,064
1,983
143
69,504



  Source: As reported by local authorities on statistical return CTAX Base 2004.

  Table 2 Number of Properties on the Valuation List on 6 September 2004 Percentage of Total Dwellings by band

  

 
Band A
Band B
Band C
Band D
Band E
Band F
Band G
Band H


Scotland
24.3%
24.5%
15.6%
12.2%
12.4%
6.4%
4.2%
0.5%


Aberdeen City
20.5%
26.1%
16.3%
11.2%
12.1%
6.9%
6.2%
0.7%


Aberdeenshire
20.6%
15.3%
13.0%
15.2%
17.4%
11.2%
7.0%
0.4%


Angus
30.0%
23.7%
12.7%
14.2%
12.4%
4.4%
2.3%
0.3%


Argyll and Bute
17.8%
21.1%
20.3%
12.3%
14.9%
7.8%
5.2%
0.5%


Clackmannanshire
29.3%
32.0%
8.0%
10.1%
12.1%
5.5%
2.9%
0.2%


Dumfries and Galloway
16.6%
32.6%
15.5%
13.0%
13.4%
5.8%
2.8%
0.2%


Dundee City
44.1%
22.9%
10.6%
10.8%
7.8%
2.6%
1.1%
0.1%


East Ayrshire
50.3%
17.5%
7.7%
9.7%
9.5%
4.3%
0.9%
0.1%


East Dunbartonshire
3.0%
8.8%
18.4%
16.1%
24.9%
14.7%
12.9%
1.1%


East Lothian
2.9%
22.5%
33.1%
12.0%
12.3%
8.6%
7.4%
1.2%


East Renfrewshire
4.1%
14.4%
10.5%
16.2%
21.8%
15.8%
15.5%
1.8%


Edinburgh, City of
11.0%
20.5%
18.4%
14.8%
15.8%
9.7%
8.3%
1.5%


Eilean Siar
36.1%
26.8%
19.5%
10.5%
5.9%
0.9%
0.2%
0.0%


Falkirk
33.7%
27.9%
8.7%
11.2%
10.9%
5.3%
2.2%
0.1%


Fife
26.0%
29.6%
12.3%
10.5%
12.2%
6.1%
3.1%
0.2%


Glasgow City
27.5%
25.6%
21.1%
12.4%
8.3%
3.2%
1.8%
0.2%


Highland
19.5%
21.8%
19.6%
15.0%
14.5%
6.4%
3.0%
0.3%


Inverclyde
57.7%
12.6%
7.1%
7.1%
7.9%
4.1%
3.1%
0.4%


Midlothian
3.0%
35.1%
28.8%
11.4%
11.6%
5.8%
3.9%
0.4%


Moray
30.0%
24.9%
14.6%
13.6%
11.6%
3.7%
1.3%
0.3%


North Ayrshire
34.5%
28.8%
9.3%
9.2%
12.4%
4.1%
1.6%
0.1%


North Lanarkshire
38.7%
25.9%
12.0%
9.5%
9.0%
3.4%
1.3%
0.1%


Orkney Islands
27.2%
27.4%
19.6%
14.7%
9.1%
1.8%
0.2%
0.0%


Perth and Kinross
14.2%
22.4%
16.5%
13.7%
16.0%
9.4%
6.8%
0.9%


Renfrewshire
18.8%
31.9%
15.1%
11.7%
11.9%
6.5%
3.7%
0.2%


Scottish Borders
31.3%
23.6%
11.7%
9.7%
10.3%
7.0%
5.7%
0.7%


Shetland Islands
31.7%
17.5%
24.6%
14.7%
9.5%
1.7%
0.4%
0.0%


South Ayrshire
14.2%
23.9%
15.8%
14.7%
17.4%
8.3%
5.2%
0.4%


South Lanarkshire
27.7%
21.8%
16.7%
12.5%
11.7%
6.1%
3.2%
0.2%


Stirling
17.2%
22.1%
10.4%
10.2%
15.1%
12.2%
11.3%
1.5%


West Dunbartonshire
18.7%
40.1%
16.7%
10.0%
10.1%
3.3%
1.1%
0.1%


West Lothian
25.2%
34.8%
11.1%
9.3%
10.7%
5.8%
2.9%
0.2%



  Source: As reported by local authorities on statistical return CTAX Base 2004.

Income

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households in rural areas have (a) no wage earner, (b) an income of less than £12,000 and (c) an income of less than £15,000, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the number of households in rural areas by income band or with no wage earner by local authority is not available.

Income

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many households in rural areas received benefits in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information is not available in the precise form requested. However, the Scottish Executive does publish information for Scotland and local authorities about individuals (but not households) claiming social security benefits and tax credits twice a year. The latest publication "Benefits and Tax Credits in Scotland, February 2004" is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/government/btcsfeb04.pdf.

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to manage staff suspensions effectively in order to reduce the cost to the NHS, the individuals and their families.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that investigations into the suspension of NHS staff are conducted in an impartial and timeous manner to reduce costs to the NHS and to the health of the individuals and their families.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended length of time is for an initial investigation into allegations of staff misconduct in the NHS.

Mr Andy Kerr: The PIN Guideline Management of Employee Conduct sets out a framework for management of employee conduct and provides model policy and information on conducting an investigation and conducting a disciplinary hearing. This can be seen at:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/spf/PIN%20Consultation%20Docs/EmployeeConduct.PDF.

  The local policy should highlight that matters should be dealt with quickly and within defined time limits. The local NHSScotland employer policy should set out the time limits.

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken against NHS staff members who make malicious and unfounded allegations against other staff in order to dissuade them from making future allegations.

Mr Andy Kerr: This is matter for the individual employer on a case-by-case basis. The PIN Guideline Management of Employee Conduct sets out a framework for management of employee conduct and provides a model policy and information on conducting an investigation and on conducting a disciplinary hearing. This can be seen at:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/spf/PIN%20Consultation%20Docs/EmployeeConduct.PDF.

  Any required resulting action would be for the employer to take and would depend on the severity

  of the situation, the ultimate sanction could be dismissal.

National Health Service

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any announcement regarding funding for a consultation on patient and client involvement and, if so, when the announcement was made; how much funding each NHS board will receive, and what guidance has been given to boards regarding criteria to be used to assess whether applications for this funding would be eligible.

Mr Andy Kerr: Informing, engaging and consulting with patients and the public in the design and delivery of health services must be a fundamental part of a modern, 21st century NHS.

  We carried out a consultation during 2004 on involving, engaging and consulting the public on health policy and service change, and further guidance will be issued by the Scottish Executive Health Department shortly.

  The development of patient-centred health services, as a core activity of NHS boards, should be funded from within each board’s financial allocation.

National Parks

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of children who have the opportunity, through school-organised trips, to participate in outdoor activity and whether it considers that National Park boards should play a role in facilitating such activity.

Peter Peacock: I want more young people to experience the far reaching benefits and opportunities which outdoor activities can bring, and school organised excursions provide an important means of encouraging that. I have asked Learning and Teaching Scotland to take forward the development of outdoor education.

  It would be for the National Park Boards themselves to consider, in association with local authorities and other relevant interests, what role the boards might have in facilitating school organised excursions and I would welcome their active interest and actions to support expanding outdoor education.

People with Disabilities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered disabled people there are in Glasgow, broken down by council ward area.

Malcolm Chisholm: There is no statutory register of disabled people. The table gives the number recorded as having a limiting long-term illness in the 2001 Census of Population in each ward in Glasgow City. Persons with Limiting Long Term Illness are those who answered "Yes" to the question "Do you have any long-term illness, health problem or disability which limits your daily activities or the work you can do? Include problems which are due to old age."

  

 
Persons with a Limiting Long-Term Illness


Total for Glasgow City
151,145


Drumry
2,028


Summerhill
1,813


Blairdardie
2,225


Knightswood Park
2,622


Knightswood South
2,370


Yoker
2,158


Anniesland
1,902


Jordanhill
1,300


Kelvindale
1,109


Scotstoun
1,985


Victoria Park
1,729


Hayburn
1,311


Hyndland
792


Hillhead
618


Partick
1,288


Kelvingrove
1,082


Anderston
1,633


Woodlands
1,491


North Kelvin
1,187


Wyndford
2,279


Maryhill
2,062


Summerston
1,664


Milton
2,495


Ashfield
2,645


Firhill
1,741


Keppochhill
2,165


Merchant City
1,881


Royston
2,506


Cowlairs
1,767


Springburn
2,354


Wallacewell
2,354


Milnbank
2,134


Dennistoun
2,006


Calton
1,877


Bridgeton/Dalmarnock
2,087


Parkhead
2,443


Carntyne
2,363


Robroyston
1,722


Gartcraig
2,541


Queenslie
1,852


Greenfield
2,323


Barlanark
1,951


Shettleston
2,542


Tollcross Park
2,643


Braidfauld
2,274


Mount Vernon
1,896


Baillieston
2,395


Garrowhill
1,384


Garthamlock
2,022


Easterhouse
2,115


Drumoyne
2,111


Govan
2,455


Ibrox
2,137


Kingston
1,981


Mosspark
2,164


North Cardonald
1,932


Penilee
2,426


Cardonald
1,627


Pollok
1,961


Crookston
2,368


Nitshill
2,117


Darnley
1,694


Carnwadric
2,222


Maxwell Park
1,245


Pollokshields East
1,726


Hutchesontown
2,388


Govanhill
2,268


Strathbungo
1,245


Battlefield
1,503


Langside
1,083


Pollokshaws
1,926


Newlands
1,613


Cathcart
1,518


Mount Florida
1,297


Toryglen
2,113


King's Park
1,087


Castlemilk
1,966


Carmunnock
1,659


Glenwood
2,187

People with Disabilities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average income is of disabled people living in Glasgow, broken down by council ward area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Average income estimates are not currently available at local authority level.

People with Disabilities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many families living with a registered disabled person in Glasgow receive free school meals or clothing grants for dependent children, broken down by council ward area.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive does not hold information on the number of families living with a registered disabled person in Glasgow who receive free school meals. Clothing grants are given at the discretion of the local authority, and no information is held centrally on such grants.

Rail Network

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will respond to the business case for the Borders Railway; whether the response will be made in a ministerial statement to the Parliament, and whether it envisages that there will be an opportunity to question the Minister for Transport on the matter.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive continues to consider the Waverley Railway’s outline business case and the implications of the current delay in the parliamentary process. An announcement will be made soon.

Rail Network

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11627 by Nicol Stephen on 19 November 2004, whether it is yet in a position to publish copies of the franchise agreement between it and First Group plc.

Nicol Stephen: The parties to the franchise agreement are the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive and First ScotRail. As stated in S2W-11627 answered on the 19 November 2004, the SRA are under a statutory obligation to publish the franchise agreement.

  Once the statutory process is complete and the ScotRail franchise agreement is placed in the SRA’s public register, copies of this will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Reference Centre.

Rail Services

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the arrangements will be for rail passengers to buy Eurostar tickets at stations in Scotland after 23 December 2004, in light of the decision of GNER to cease selling such tickets at Waverley Station after this date.

Nicol Stephen: Eurostar is changing its retail system and is working with the UK train operating companies to ensure that Eurostar tickets are available for sale at as many UK rail stations as possible. GNER will continue to sell Eurostar tickets at Waverley Station until 31 March 2005. Negotiations are on-going about sales after that.

Roads

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects work to commence on the upgrade of the Ballinluig junction on the A9.

Nicol Stephen: The department is working to a timetable that will see draft orders for the scheme published in May. If issues are raised which cannot be resolved by negotiation it may be necessary to hold a public local inquiry, but if this is not required then I expect tenders to be sought by the end of this year with work scheduled to start in the early summer of 2006. The subsequent contract period will last two years.

Schools

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12808 by Peter Peacock on 17 December 2004, whether data on the number of incidents of violence and antisocial behaviour against local authority school staff, as referred to in the answer, will be broken down by local authority and, if so, when it will provide this information.

Peter Peacock: As indicated in the answer to question S2W-12808, on 17 December 2004, the information requested has been made available in the Excel spreadsheet published at www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00318-00.asp . The relevant page of the spreadsheet is that titled "Additional". For the avoidance of doubt, this information is indeed broken down by local authority.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/wa.search.

Scottish Children's Reporter Administration

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the Annual Report of the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration.

Euan Robson: As has been the case since it was established in 1995, publication of annual reports is a matter for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.

Scottish Children's Reporter Administration

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place a copy of the draft Annual Report of the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre along with correspondence between it and the SCRA relating to the annual report.

Euan Robson: Scottish ministers are required to lay copies of the Annual Report in the Parliament and this will be done for the 2003-04 report as has been done with all previous reports. Although my officials saw an early draft of the report, this was indicative only and was withdrawn by SCRA on the basis that it was undergoing further development including validation of the data. Consequently, there was no correspondence relating to its publication.

Social Justice

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next publish the Social Justice Annual Report.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our new Closing the Opportunity Gap approach has refocused our social justice strategy, and set out new objectives and targets, and action to deliver those targets. The targets were announced in the Scottish Parliament on 9 December 2004 S2W-12888, and more information can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/closingtheopportunitygap .

  The Social Justice Annual Report which reported against the social justice milestones will not be published again. Data on the social justice milestones continues to be available, however, at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Social-Inclusion/17415/milestones#top.

Sport

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of assistance is provided to local authority sports co-cordinators to ensure that their sports programmes are not adversely affected due to higher costs of transportation, particularly in rural areas.

Patricia Ferguson: Local authorities have been allocated an operational budget of £1,500 for each secondary school cluster by  sportscotland to be used to support activities provided through Active Schools, part of which can be allocated against transport costs, particularly in rural areas.

  Funding of £2,000 per secondary school is also available through the Out of School Hours/School Sport Co-ordinator Programme managed by sportscotland on behalf of the Big Lottery Fund, part of which can also be allocated to offset transport costs.

  We also anticipate that Active Schools funding will help to unlock additional local funding from relevant local authority and other budgets in order to support extra transport needs in all local authority areas. Sportscotland’s Partnership managers encourage all local authorities and other local bodies to adopt a co-ordinated approach to Active Schools including in relation to transport provision.

Sport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote shinty; in particular, whether it has any plans to support the establishment of shinty as an internationally-recognised sport with its own federation and, if not, how the sport can achieve such recognition.

Patricia Ferguson: As the governing body for the sport, the Camanachd Association is responsible for promoting shinty. One of the targets in the Association’s Development Plan is to promote shinty and its cultural history to as broad an audience as is possible. It is for the association to seek to identify other areas where shinty is played and then explore with interested parties there the possible formation of an international governing body for the sport.

Students

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7885 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 May 2004, what percentage of full-time students held a part-time job during the university academic year from May 2003 to March 2004.

Mr Jim Wallace: The percentage of full-time students holding a part-time job during the period May 2003 to March 2004 is not available. However, the proportion of full-time students at university or college who were in part-time employment for the spring quarter in 2004 is 39%. The 2004 spring quarter runs from March 2004 to May 2004. The percentage is estimated from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics.

Students

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7885 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 May 2004, what the average number of hours worked by full-time students holding a part-time job while attending university has been in each year since 1999.

Mr Jim Wallace: The table below gives the average number of hours worked in a week by full-time students at university or college who were in part-time employment for the spring quarter in years 1999 to 2004. The spring quarter runs from March to May in each year. These figures are estimated from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics.

  Average Number of Hours Worked in a Week by Full-Time Students Holding a Part-Time Job 1999–2004, Scotland

  

Year
Average Hours1


1999
14


2000
15


2001
14


2002
15


2003
14


2004
15



  Source: Labour Force Survey, Spring Quarters, 1999-2004.

  Note: 1. Average hours includes overtime worked.

Students

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7885 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 May 2004, what the average wage earned by full-time students holding a part-time job while attending university has been in each year since 1999.

Mr Jim Wallace: The table below gives the median basic hourly rate for full-time students at university or college who were in part-time employment for the spring quarter in years 1999 to 2004. The spring quarter runs from March to May in each year. These figures are estimated from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics.

  Median1 Basic Hourly Rate Earned by Full-Time Students Holding a Part-Time Job 1999-2004, Scotland

  

Year
Median Basic Hourly Rate (£)


1999
4.00


2000
4.20


2001
4.34


2002
4.30


2003
4.50


2004
4.62



  Source: Labour Force Survey, Spring Quarters, 1999-2004.

  Note: 1. The median is the value below which 50 per cent of workers fall. It is preferred over an arithmetic average for earnings data as it is influenced less by large or extreme values.

Students

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7885 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 May 2004, what percentage of full-time students held a part-time job while attending university in each year since 1999, broken down by higher education institution.

Mr Jim Wallace: The percentage of full-time students with a part-time job while attending university in each year since 1999, broken down by specific higher education institution is not available.

  However, the table below gives the proportion of full-time students at university or college who were in part-time employment for the winter quarter in years 1999 to 2003 by type of institution attended. The winter quarter runs from December to February in each year. These figures are estimated from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics.

  Percentage of Full-time Students Holding a Part-time Job by Institution Type, 1999–2003, Scotland

  

Year
University, College of Higher Education
College of Further Education


1999
36%
36%


2000
40%
36%


2001
38%
34%


2002
41%
44%


2003
39%
30%



  Source: Labour Force Survey, Winter Quarters, 1999-2003.

Sustainable Development

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the report to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Sustainable Development on progress being made towards meeting waste indicator targets.

Ross Finnie: No. Papers for meetings of the Scottish Cabinet and its Sub-Committees are exempt from disclosure under section 29 (1) (a) and 30(a) and 30(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. However, information about progress towards meeting the waste indicator targets was provided in the answer to question S2W-13038, on 17 January 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/wa.search .

Teachers

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether opportunities are provided in the school curriculum to deal with issues surrounding death and bereavement and whether such issues are included in teacher training.

Peter Peacock: There is scope in the curriculum to address the issues of death and bereavement within the context of the National 5-14 Guidelines, principally in the guidance on personal and social development which is essentially concerned with the development of life skills. Decisions on what and how to teach rest with education authorities and schools in response to local circumstances.

  The Scottish Executive has no information to suggest that issues relating to death and bereavement are specifically covered within teacher training. Continuing professional development courses covering social and personal issues include guidance on effective counselling skills.

Teachers

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are in each local authority area for teachers in (a) primary schools, (b) English, (c) modern languages, (d) mathematics, (e) science subjects, (f) technical subjects, (g) art, (h) geography, (i) history (j) computer studies and (k) physical education.

Peter Peacock: The latest information available from the teacher vacancies survey returned by local authorities is at February 2004 which is in the Parliament’s Reference Centre, Bib. number 32903. The next survey will be undertaken at February 2005 and the results will be available in the spring.

Tourism

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports Lochaber's bid to become the outdoor capital of the United Kingdom.

Patricia Ferguson: As part of its "Active" marketing brand, VisitScotland aims to promote Scotland as the outdoor capital of Europe, and I welcome industry initiatives which help to highlight the range and quality of outdoor activities that Scotland has to offer. The Lochaber initiative is an excellent example of how public and private organisations can work together to develop this valuable market.

Transport

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the duration is of the transport long-term investment plan, referred to on page 107 of Draft Budget 2005-06 , and where details of this plan are published.

Nicol Stephen: The current Transport long-term investment plan was published in the Transport White Paper Scotland’s Transport Future in June 2004. It covers the 10 year period from 2003 to 2012.

Transport

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9992 by Nicol Stephen on 10 September 2004, whether it has reached a decision on the introduction of licensing for private car hire booking offices.

Nicol Stephen: We have been giving this matter careful consideration and we will shortly announce how we propose to take this matter forward.

Correction

The reply to question S2W-12475, which was originally answered on 7 December 2004, has been corrected: see page 4001 or http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-05/wa0117.htm.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Staff

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many members of staff are employed at grade (a) 5, (b) 6, (c) 7 and (d) 8, giving job titles.

Duncan McNeil (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): The number of staff employed at grades 5, 6, 7 and 8, together with their job titles are set out in the attached annex.

  Staff in Grades, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Employed by the SPCB

  

Grade
Total in Grade
Job Title
No with Job Title


5
74
Senior Assistant Clerk
19


Research Specialist
10


Sub-Editor
7


Senior Research Specialist (Team Leader)
2


Senior Research Specialist
8


Outreach Services Manager
1


Deputy Head of Broadcasting
1


External Liaison Policy Officer
1


Senior Purchasing Manager
2


Strategic Relations Manager
2


Head of Allowances
1


Projects Lead
1


Management Accountant
1


Clerk to the Public Petitions Committee
1


Facilities Manager
1


Senior Media Relations Officer
1


Senior Specialist
1


Head of Delivery
1


Enquiries Manager
1


Senior Buildings Manager
1


Publications Editor and Head of Public Information
1


Equality Officer
1


Publications Print Manager`
1


Project Manager New Payroll System
1


Visitor Services Manager
1


Information Access Manager
1


Deputy Head of Purchasing
1


Business Change Lead
1


Deputy Head of Security
1


Construction Coordinator
1


Senior Assistant Clerk
1


6
 
54
Head of Security
1


Clerk Team Leader
23


Principal Private Secretary
1


Senior Migration Manager
1


Financial Controller
1


Head of Financial Resources
1


Holyrood IT Programme Manager
1


Head of Visitor and Outreach Services
1


Head of Purchasing
1


Implementation Manager
1


Deputy Editor
1


Head of Media Affairs
1


Head of FM Service Delivery
1


Internal Auditor
1


Corporate Projects Manager
1


Head of Employment Policy/Deputy Head of Personnel
1


Head of Development
1


Principal Research Specialist
2


Head of Strategy
1


Head of Broadcasting
1


Information Services Manager
1


Private Secretary/Head of Office
1


Head of Corporate Policy
1


Assistant Legal Adviser
5


Coordinator, Festival of Politics and Ideas
1


Client Coordinator Exhibitions and Presentations
1


Community Law Specialist
1


7
11
Head of BIT
1


Holyrood Project Adviser
1


Editor
1


Head of Facilities Management
1


Head of Chamber Office
1


Head of Personnel
1


Head of Research and Information Services
1


Head of Committee Office
1


Senior Assistant Legal Advisers
3


8
5
Director of Access and Information
1


Director of Technical and Facilities Management
1


Director of Resources and Governance
1


Director of Clerking and Reporting 
1


Director of Legal Services
1